In this paper, we will explore the ways in which sustainable intensification interventions

often overlook fundamental social dynamics in rural landscapes. We provide evidence of

the underlying social, political and environmental contexts that affect farmers’ land-use

decisions. While there are numerous initiatives to promote a Green Revolution for Africa,

many tend to be dominated by technical fixes that fail to understand rural farmers’ condi

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tions or aspirations and focus narrowly on increasing productivity. These technical solu

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The project "Improving Seed Systems for Smallholder Farmers' Food Security" aims to contribute to a future in which farmers successfully use crop diversity to ensure their food security and that of their communities, to thrive in challenging conditions and to make their farms resilient. The project addresses to particular issues vital to this goal: i) crop diversity available for farmers through seed systems; and ii) the policies that regulate such systems.

Agriculture accounts for most of the renewable freshwater resource withdrawals in Malawi, yet food insecurity and water scarcity remain as major challenges. Despite Malawi’s vast water resources, climate change, coupled with increasing population and urbanisation are contributing to increasing water scarcity. Improving crop water productivity has been identified as a possible solution to water and food insecurity, by producing more food with less water, that is, to produce “more crop per drop”.

In the absence of clear international policy signals and strong global agreements on climate change and sustainable agriculture, countries are moving forward to test sustainability strategies through innovative policies and financing programmes. This paper explores how three countries – Brazil, Ethiopia, and New Zealand – are using integrated policy approaches to address the linked challenges of climate change, unsustainable agriculture, and food insecurity.

This research shows that both wild biodiversity and agrobiodiversity provide multiple ecosystem services that support food production, underpin food security and human wellbeing. We consider that biodiversity conservation efforts in agricultural contexts should better integrate wild and agrobiodiversity approaches

This conference presents the culmination of the PGR Secure project (www.pgrsecure.org) – a collaborative project involving eleven partners funded under the EU Seventh Framework Programme, THEME KBBE.2010.1.1-03, 'Characterization of biodiversity resources for wild crop relatives to improve crops by breeding', Grant agreement no. 266394. It is jointly organized with the section on genetic resources of the European Association for Research on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA).